Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Households have faced more than a year of high inflation and rising interest rates and the impact of both is becoming more apparent according to new UK Finance data. The research found that squeezed budgets and higher financing costs are bearing down more heavily on affordability for prospective house buyers. The same pressures are, as…
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Latest research from Hargreaves Lansdown has found that one in five say their monthly mortgage payments have already risen more than £200 in the past 18 months. Two in five people with a mortgage say their payments haven’t gone up since interest rates started rising – because so many are on fixed rate deals with…
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Debt charity, StepChange’s latest client data for April 2023 has revealed over a quarter of new clients (27%) cite the cost of living as their main reason for debt, up from 15% a year ago (April 2022). The new StepChange client data shows that after a year of inflated prices for gas and electricity, more…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a ban on referral fees for debt packager firms. The ban applies to all new debt packager firms and will come into play for existing firms in October 2023, and follows a review that found evidence of debt packagers appearing to manipulate customers’ details so that they meet…
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Research from Freedom Finance has revealed that the growing demand for consumer credit is being underpinned by a move for consumers to consolidate debt. The analysis found that forty-one percent (41%) of all people who searched for a loan through Freedom Finance’s platform in April 2023 were looking to consolidate debt. The second most common reason…
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Leading anti-poverty charities publish research showing that ending poverty is not just morally right – it’s also an economic imperative Scotland’s economy is missing out on up to £2.4 billion a year due to the UK and Scottish government’s failure to eradicate poverty – with billions more being spent tackling the consequences of poverty which…
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Ofwat’s latest cost of living research has revealed that not only that many customers are still struggling financially but also that the percentage of customers aware that financial help is available from water companies has hovered around 30% over the last year. This third wave of cost of living research reveals that the percentage of…
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Lenders are being urged to help their customers who are facing financial difficulty to take a proactive approach to the cost-of-living crisis to help prevent unmanageable debt and a deepening of stress-induced mental health crises, before they occur. TDX and Equifax’s say that it’s recommendations are supported by partners including UK Mortgages and the Centre…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for May 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,839.7 billion at the end of March 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,513 and per adult was £34,589, around 105.3% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending shrunk by…
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Temporary measures forcing lenders to offer greater support to borrowers in financial difficulties could become permanent, under new proposals announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA also announced that 17 lenders will pay up to £47 million in redress to financially-distressed borrowers, after failing to offer appropriate support. The payments will be made…
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With inflation falling back to its lowest level since March 2022 surging food prices will be very worrying for families according to the Resolution Foundation. CPI inflation fell back to 8.7 per cent in April – its lowest level since March 2022 (7 per cent) – driven by last year’s initial energy price shock falling…
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Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday show that UK inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), came in at 8.7% for April, down from March’s 10.1% but far above the 8.4% hoped for by the Bank of England. The news sent expectations of further interest rate rises soaring and…
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A new report by Christians Against Poverty (CAP) report has revealed a sharp rise in unsustainable budgets with the average person £242 short each month The research found that there has been a rise in the proportion of CAP client budgets that are unsustainable each year over the past five years, apart from 2020 when…
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